Big Chief Tablet Desk

When I got this little wobbly desk, I thought it might be a good project to work on,  wanting to save it from becoming one of those Pinterest aqua-painted shabby-chic furniture pieces that are becoming oh so common nowadays...
So, I thought I'd quickly scrape/strip off the multiple layers of paint, get it down to some nicely dark-stained, glowing wood with a single creamy white drawer. WRONG!
$on of a bitch, people! Three days of scraping with a variety of tools, steel wool, wire brushes and three different kinds of lame stripper and I remained far from my goal....why don't they bring back liquid Red Devil that ate off paint like the acid blood from the Alien movies!?? Gah!
Plus I cut my finger twice flying about the kitchen making Thanksgiving Dinner and being more creative by trying 'Sweet Potato Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce'--a bit too heavy handed w/ the nutmeg....but I digress.
Sore fingers do not handle sandpaper well so I GAVE UP and grabbed some thin black paint. (Sigh)  I rubbed the thin paint with Ebony stain to sorta stay within my goal, left the top a nice wood (retaining its nostalgic burn mark, scar, ink & bleach stain, added antique-looking 'mercury glass' knobs to the drawer and, completed the piece with (TA DAH!) BIG CHIEF! 

Mosaic Tile Tub Surround: Broken Tile

Finally--after numerous finger/knuckle slices, I've got this thing grouted with linen and white grout and sealed once. I tried to keep the thing lighter at the top since this bathroom is tiny. If I would of tried harder, I could of more randomly gradiated the dark and light together, but I was getting exasperated at all this expanse that needed filled in! I went back later and put some cowrie shells for a top border (not finished yet) and an occasional black marble--to let me know where the wall studs are--just in case I need to remember later.
So, here's who I can thank!
Ron Fox, tileman--for a lot of pieces of light colored tile (most of the expanse). Thank you so much--I owe you!
Belva--colored and dark tile odds and ends.
Tegan and Bailey--pebbles from their beaches that I picked up while visiting.
Brigham--the use of 30 brass bullet casings.
Jill--some of her mom's necklace beads/faux pearls.
Sarah's Treasures--beads and some colorful plates that I hammered to pieces.
Clay's--for encouragement.
My garage--various metal pieces that will probably rust later and spoil things.
Home Depot, Manhattan--mortar and grout.
Menards, Manhattan--sealer.

Mistakes have been made here and there, but it took way longer than I'd planned and it's not nearly as 'overboard' as I thought it was becoming--once the grout calmed down all those lines. I recommend not rubbing your hand across this thing swiftly--somewhere there's still a sharp edge! More info on earlier posts...

.There is a little blue crab waving in the corner, a frog face, a fish, a set of eyes, and 2 kitty faces hidden too!